A Rose With No Thorns
by Cupcakes Can Write Too
Summary: Rose Granger-Weasley has never particularly liked Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy has always loved Rose Granger-Weasley. And as their 7th and final year in Hogwarts kicks off, Scorpius knows time is running out for him and Rose. But can Rose look past everything Scorpius has done and accept him for who he is? Picks up after Cursed Child.
1. Prologue

**Hello fellow fanfictioners! Fanfictioneers? I don't know. Anyway, this is my first multi-chapter story. It's about Rose and Scorpius, and I'm planning for the story to cover their entire seventh year, and maybe beyond. This is just a prologue from the years before. As much as I truly despise the Cursed Child, I am going with canon and keeping all the events of the first four years at Hogwarts they way they were originally written. After that, it's all my imagination. If you spot any mistakes (aside from their appearances) please let me know. I'm trying to keep it as close as possible to canon. I'm not sure about updates at this point, since school will be starting soon, and by then whatever schedule I'll have set up will go all wonky. But the next chapter will definitely be up within a week. So by next Friday you will have at least one update.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

End of 4th Year

 _Rose Granger-Weasley brushed dark, red Weasley hair out of her sapphire blue eyes, watching the Hogwarts Express pull put of the station. She turned, and the brass engraving of Platform Nine and Three Quarters looked back at her. And, just below the carving, her family awaited._

 _Hermione Granger-Weasley squeezed her daughter extra-tight that day. Normally, Rose would have shook her off, but this time, Rose was almost glad to receive the hug. Rose had learned all about what Scorpius Malfoy and her cousin, Albus Potter, had been up to over the school year. Rose hadn't felt a thing, but apparently, there was a reality in which her father, Ron Weasley, didn't marry her mother, Hermione._

 _And, just like that, Rose Granger-Weasley had ceased to exist._

 _She'd tried not to dwell on it, but the overwhelming reality of it all swept over her when she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, or flying on the Quidditch pitch on her broom, alone. The fact that one second someone could be here and the next they could be gone was terrifying to her. It had given her a new respect for everyone who had died in the Battle of Hogwarts, or in the whole Second Wizarding War, really._

 _Rose shook those thoughts out of her head and embraced her father as well. After her younger brother, Hugo Granger-Weasley, had greeted their parents, Rose turned to her friends._

 _Thea Thomas, Amy Longbottom, Fiona Finnegan, and Serafina Wood. Four of the best friends a witch could ask for._

 _All four had parents with varying degrees of popularity. Amy's father, Neville Longbottom, was not only their Herbology professor but also a prominent figure of the Wizarding World. He had gained a fan population after the events of the Battle of Hogwarts, in which he'd displayed all the true qualities of a Gryffindor. Thea's father was Dean Thomas, one of Rose's Uncle Harry's friends when he was at Hogwarts. Sera's father was the famous Oliver Wood, who had played Keeper for the England team for over a decade. He'd retired from playing, but nothing was keeping him off the pitch. He was now coaching the team instead, and they'd won the World Cup three times in a row with his playing and now, his coaching._ _Fiona's father was Seamus Finnegan, another one of Uncle Harry's Hogwarts buddies._

 _Rose hugged Amy and Fiona good-bye and high-fived Thea. Thea wasn't much for affection, but everyone knew that when loyalty was required, Thea was the one who would stick by your side through thick and thin. Meanwhile, Sera was half-French and would only settle for the customary kisses on the cheek._

 _Rose waved to them all as she left the station. She looked back one last time to the owl-laden, excited families clamoring all over the platform._

 _There was one family in particular that caught her eye. A father and a son, with the same white-blond hair, the same silvery gray eyes._

 _The Malfoys were still an infamous name, despite the allegations of Scorpius being Voldemort's son having been cleared. The families still parted for them, whispering maliciously. But Draco and Scorpius held their heads high, ignoring the gossip. Rose couldn't help but admire them for their self-confidence. It was one of the qualities she felt she lacked. Rose never felt like she was good enough at Quidditch, Potions, Herbology-anything._

 _Rose's breath caught in her throat as Scorpius's eyes met hers. Shimmering silver on twinkling blue. For a few seconds, they held their gaze. Rose found herself unable to look away. She caught sight of the wide smile that was starting to stretch across Scorpius's face, and a smile grew on her's, too. Scorpius opened his mouth slightly, as if he was going to say something-_

 _"Rose!" Ron called. Rose broke Scorpius's gaze and turned back toward her family. "Ready to go?"_

 _Rose nodded and followed her parents out of the station, unsure what had just happened,_ if _anything had happened. She would have asked Fiona- Fiona was the one to go to with any kind of boy trouble- but Rose was already climbing into the Muggle car that Hermione insisted on driving, despite Ron's protests that this time he_ really _hadn't Confunded the Muggle examiner. It was too late to go back and ask her._

 _Besides, this was about Scorpius Malfoy. Surely nothing that happened with him could count as important to Fiona?_

 _No... Fiona and the rest of her friends-except maybe Thea-loved talking about Rose and Scorpius._

 _Not that there_ was _a Rose and Scorpius to talk about._

 _And there never would be._

* * *

5th Year

 _Rose opened the door to the Prefect's compartment and was met with a nervous Albert Macmillan._

 _Albert was the son of Ernie Macmillan, Head of the Department of International Cooperation. His father had left him a lot to live up to, and Rose understood the feeling. Her parents were two of the Golden Trio._

 _Of course, she was always worried about letting them down._

 _Which was why she hadn't told them about her real aspirations for the future. Rose was perfectly fine with becoming the Auror her parents had expected her to be. She idolized the position, actually. The bravery and courage required to fight Dark wizards... it was admirable. And Rose could clearly see herself becoming one of them._

 _But while becoming an Auror would be amazing... her passion lay in the sky. Quidditch was her love, and she spent hours on the pitch, hours no one knew about. She studied hard, too, because her grades did matter to her. Education had always been important to her._

 _But now that her OWL year was about to begin,-quite literally, as Rose was aboard the Hogwarts Express, carrying her to school- she had started to really reconsider her plans._

 _Did she go the safe, expected way, and become an Auror?_

 _Or did she follow her heart to the Quidditch pitch?_

 _Rose sighed, almost inaudibly, and sat down next to Albert._

 _"So, you're the other Gryffindor Prefect?" Albert asked._

 _Rose nodded._

 _"I'm not surprised. You're top of every class! And, of course, you're_ Rose Granger-Weasley. _" Albert admired._

 _Rose, who had been about to thank him and compliment him in return, stopped. Her heart, which had previously been pumping in excitement for the Prefects meeting, dropped. "What do you mean?" she asked dully, knowing what his answer would be._

 _"Oh, you know, your parents are Ron and Hermione. Two-thirds of the Golden Trio! And-"_

 _Albert carried on in a similar fashion, but Rose couldn't be bothered to listen. Her expression fell, and she felt her insecurities pop up again. Was she really only given the position because of her surname? She couldn't pretend she hadn't considered it, but to hear it from someone else was another thing altogether._

 _All the Weasley and Potter children frequently felt like this. Roxanne Weasley had left Hogwarts similar to how Rose hoped to leave it, with perfect grades and a Head Girl badge._

 _But Roxy had confided to Rose many times about her own worries. Worries that Felix was only with her for her surname. Worries that the badge on her robes that she polished lovingly every night was a badge she didn't deserve. Roxy was something of a big sister to Rose. They'd always been the same; feisty, smart, and polished with insecurities hidden just under the surface. Rose had always assured Roxy that everything she had, she deserved. Because Rose truly believed that. Roxy had studied hard for her grades and been the perfect student to earn her badge. Not to mention that Felix had liked Roxy for her personality, which was normally light and bubbly._

 _Felix wasn't the type to care about surnames._

 _If only the rest of the Wizarding World could be that way, too._

 _Albert's long-winded spiel about the wonders of the Golden Trio was interrupted by the door of the compartment sliding open, revealing-_

Scorpius Malfoy.

 _Rose looked up and tilted her head curiously._

 _"Hi, Rose!" Scorpius said excitedly. "You're a Prefect, too? Oh, wait, of course you are! You're Rose, after all, you're perfect!" Scorpius declared._

 _Rose felt so much better just by hearing that. Because he hadn't mentioned the surname Granger-Weasley at all. He'd thought she earned the badge because she was Rose. Not because her parents had saved the world._

 _And maybe she liked the fact that he called her perfect. Just a little._

 _But there was something else about his sentence that made her pause. "_ Too _?"_

 _Scorpius interrupted her in his excitement to tell her that-"I'm a Prefect, too! Isn't it great?"_

 _Rose was taken aback by this. Scorpius had always been a good student, but after his_ adventure _the year before, McGonagall had still given him the badge?_

 _"I know what you're thinking." Scorpius said, face falling slightly. "That I couldn't be a Prefect, right? I mean, Al and I kind of messed up... the whole world. But McGonagall said this is her way of giving me a chance. She thinks I would do well as a Prefect, but I don't know. What do you think?"_

 _Rose didn't really know what to tell him. "I guess we'll see."_

 _Scorpius seemed to take that as a good answer and he flopped down in the seat next to her. Rose scooted a few inches away, remembering her thoughts at the station at the beginning of the summer. She'd told herself that there would never be a Rose and Scorpius._

 _And she didn't even know why she was so dead-set on never being with Scorpius, but she would never admit the real reason to herself._

 _As much as Rose tried to not judge people by their parents, as much as she told herself that the new generation deserved to prove themselves as their own people... she still felt, deep down, that Scorpius Malfoy hadn't really redeemed himself._

 _He'd put the whole world at risk just last year. Scorpius had aided in literally erasing the reality that Rose lived in. And she hadn't quite forgiven him for that. She was willing to look past the name Malfoy, and of course, she knew that he wasn't really Voldemort's son, but she wasn't able to look past his actions last year._

 _And so, once again, Rose firmly commanded herself to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy._

 _Because if she let him get too close... he might end up stealing her heart._

* * *

6th Year

 _Rose jumped excitedly off the Hogwarts Express, ready for her 6th year._

 _"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" Hagrid yelled from further down the platform. Rose smiled, the sound familiar to her by now._

 _Rose had told herself that 6th year was going to be her year. It would be the year that she studied hardest, played Quidditch best, and the year that set her up for Head Girl-ship._

 _She sauntered into the Great Hall, scanning the Gryffindor table for her friends. Despite many other close-knit groups drifting apart over time, Rose's friends-her family at this point- were still together, and Rose knew in her heart that if six years hadn't torn them apart, nothing would._

 _Rose greeted all of them excitedly; there hadn't been time for her to really meet them on the train as she was patrolling the hallways like a good Prefect. Rose sat down to watch the Sorting, and then Professor McGonagall's speech afterward._

 _Stomach growling, she practically attacked her food when it appeared before her on the table. She was a little infamous in her family for loving food with a passion that rivaled only her secret love for Quidditch. She was on the team, of course, and the Captain, Jake Anderson, thought she was the best Chaser Hogwarts had ever seen, but her real adoration of the sport was yet to be discovered._

 _Rose looked at all tables in the Great Hall, feeling warm inside. This summer, she had longed to return to the familiar halls and close friends at Hogwarts. It felt like just as much of a home as the Burrow did, or her house._

 _There was one thing she'd been especially tense about, however._

 _And he was sitting right there._

 _Scorpius Malfoy had somehow entered her thoughts at the beginning of the summer. Rose suspected it had something to do with the fact that she'd been at the Potters' and Al had been complaining about missing Scorpius. That had reminded Rose that Scorpius was still pining after her, and she'd started to feel a little guilty about it._

 _After all, she was stringing him along, right? If she didn't like him, she should go up to him and say so, or else she was being incredibly insensitive, right?_

 _Rose slowed her feverish eating for a second, lost in thought, staring at Scorpius's snowy-blonde hair._

 _She_ didn't _have feelings for him, right?_

 _Rose's eyes widened when she realized..._

 _She couldn't honestly say that anymore._

* * *

 **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnddddddddd that was the Prologue! What did ya think? The real story will start in the next chapter, with Rose entering her seventh year. I think I might do some Scorpius POVs... let me know if you would be interested in seeing that.**

 **And this is me totally not advertising my only other story... it's a Scorose oneshot that you should read if you liked this Prologue... yep I'm done NOT advertising my other story! Lol**

 **Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**This is the first real chapter of the story. It begins at Platform Nine and Three Quarters in Rose's POV. This story will also include some OC-related stuff, (Thea, Amy, Sera, and Fiona) but the main focus will be Scorpius and Rose.**

 **Also, I'm not entirely sure whether there are dorms specifically for Heads with common rooms and libraries, but I've seen many other authors do it, so I'm just adding it.**

 **Thank you to Old Monk, the person who reviewed!**

 **I forgot to mention this last time:**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own the Harry Potter series, because if I did Sirius Black would still be alive.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Rose leaped out of the car, spotting Fiona entering King's Cross Station. It was a very rainy and gloomy September 1st, but Rose's excitement at retuoprning to Hogwarts hadn't dimmed. It was her last year here, her last year at her second home. She wanted to live it to the fullest, and a little bit of rain wasn't stopping her.

Unfortunately, it was much more than a little bit of rain. The downpour outside fell in sheets, drenching her in seconds. Thunder boomed overhead and lightning crackled eerily. "Great," Rose grumbled. She tugged her trunk out of the car and piled it onto the cart where Hugo had stacked his stuff. Rose carefully put her owl cage on top of all of it. Inside, Fabian, her beautiful Snowy owl, hooted.

Rose and her family entered King's Cross and made their way to Platforms 9 and 10. Rose leaned against the barrier and fell sideways into a platform packed with members of the Wizarding World. Her friends were grouped together in a corner, walking toward the train to board it. Rose caught up with them as her cousin, Victoire, and her fiancee, Teddy, helped Hugo load their things onto the train.

"Fiona!" Rose called, running up to her. Fiona turned, long brown hair whipping everywhere. Her glittering green eyes lit up when she spotted Rose, and she beckoned to her.

After Rose had greeted all of her friends and said goodbye to her parents, she leaped onto the train and headed for the Prefect's carriage.

Rose had been sent the Head Girl badge with her Hogwarts letter, and she couldn't have been more excited. Roxy had told Rose all about the Heads' Dorms and their common room with adjoining library, and Rose couldn't wait to see it all for herself.

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy greeted his best friend, Al Potter, on the Hogwarts Express.

"I still have no idea how they made you Head Boy!" Al grumbled.

Scorpius grinned. "I came second in exams only to Rose," he reminded Al. "And I think McGonagall likes me..."

"Come off it! McGonagall likes _no one._ " Al pushed Scorpius. But the smile on his face showed how happy he was to see his friend. "Well, I somehow managed to convince Fiona to let me sit with her today-"

"Fiona?" Scorpius said, raising a blond eyebrow mischievously.

Al turned a light shade of pink. "Shut up, Scor."

Scorpius laughed. "You should tell her how you feel," he suggested. Al had been crushing on Fiona since their fifth year.

"I've seen Rose turn you down enough times to know that's a very bad idea," Al said, shaking his head.

"I have a good feeling about this year!" Scorpius said hopefully.

"You've said that _every year._ " Al deadpanned.

"But this is seventh year! And we're both Heads, too. She'll have to see me all the time, and she won't be able to resist my charms now!"

"Dream on," Al maintained.

They were wandering the halls of the train as the steam whistle blew and the Hogwarts Express began to chug along to the countryside. Al stopped by a compartment. "I think Fiona's in here."

"Good luck!" Scorpius joked.

"You too, mate."

Al went inside the compartment, which had four girls inside, and Scorpius headed to the Prefect's carriage.

* * *

Rose watched as the compartment door opened and the fifth-year Ravenclaw Prefects entered, gleaming badges fastened to their robes. Rose waved reassuringly at them. She remembered how nervous she'd been as a Prefect in her fifth year, and she wanted to make the Ravenclaws feel welcome.

The door opened once more to Scorpius Malfoy, who had a polished Head Boy badge pinned to the front of his green-and-silver robes. Scorpius smiled hopefully at Rose, and she rolled her eyes.

Not happening.

Scorpius's enthusiasum wasn't dimmed, however. He sat down next to her like he had back in 5th year and struck up a conversation with the 6th year Slytherin Prefects.

He'd actually become kind of popular over the past few years, now that he was Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Scorpius had tried out for the position in his 5th year, and he'd been by far the best candidate. After winning them the Quidditch Cup that year, he'd been nothing less than a hero to all the Slytherins. Of course, Gryffindor had made a comeback in Rose's 6th year, taking back the cup that had been theirs for years before Scorpius had joined the team. This year, the competition would be neck to neck. Rose had expected either Scorpius or herself to become Quidditch Captain, but they'd both become Heads instead, so that wasn't possible.

Not to mention that over the past few years, Scorpius had become... kind of a ladies' man. He hadn't asked anyone out, of course, as he was still crushing on Rose, but that hadn't stopped ninety percent of the female population of Hogwarts from noticing him. And about twenty percent of those people had asked _him_ out. But he'd declined them all with meaningful glances at Rose. She'd always shaken her head politely and walked off in return... but that hadn't stopped her heart from racing in anticipation of his answer whenever another girl asked him to Hogsmeade.

Rose couldn't help it. Despite her efforts to the contrary, she was one of the girls in school who noticed Scorpius. She just pretended she didn't and rejected him over and over. She winced at the thought.

Maybe she could give him a chance. Scorpius had been nothing but a gentleman ever since his escapade in 4th year with Albus, and even then, he'd had Cedric's best interests at heart. And Scorpius had helped defeat Delphi.

Rose chanced a glance at him as he scanned the room, making sure all the Prefects had arrived. He caught her looking and smiled at her as she flushed slightly. Luckily, he didn't notice, or if he did, he pretended not to. Rose smiled back tentatively, staring into his swirling gray eyes...

"Well, all the Prefects are here, so should we explain the patrol schedules to them?" Scorpius asked. Rose blinked out of her reverie and nodded.

They both stood up and got the Prefects' attention. "All right, everyone! I'm Rose Weasley and this is Scorpius Malfoy. We are the Heads this year," Rose began.

"I guess we should start by explaining how everything works for the fifth years," Scorpius suggested. "As a Prefect, you have to guide the first years around the castle, and when anyone needs your help, it's your responsibility to be there for them. And, of course, you have patrol schedules to follow. This year, the fifth years will be patrolling from 9:00 to 12:00 on Mondays and Tuesdays, the sixth years at the same time, only on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Rose and I will take the weekends and Fridays. Any questions?"

"What's the password to the Prefect common room?" A fifth-year Ravenclaw girl piped up.

Rose smiled. "Professor McGonagall will tell you once we get to the castle. Any other questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Sixth-years can go back to their compartments. The fifth-years have the responsibility of patrolling the train for today. If anything happens, you can come to me and Scorpius for help."

The fifth-years agreed and went off down the corridors. "I've heard the Heads' dorms have an amazing library," Scorpius commented to Rose. They were alone in the compartment now.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. When it came to books, she'd even strike up a conversation with Filch, the ancient caretaker of Hogwarts. "I can't wait to use it!"

Scorpius chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I think our friends are in the same compartment. Wanna go find them?"

They both headed to the compartment where Al and Rose's friends were sitting. Rose knocked on the door and it slid open to Sera, who was pointing her wand at them angrily. "Listen, Adams- Oh, it's you two. Well, come in," she said grumpily. Rose raised an eyebrow as she climbed inside with Scorpius.

"It's Adams now?" Steve Adams was Sera's boyfriend. They'd been together since fifth-year, and while they displayed entirely too much PDA, they were good together.

"He's being stupid," Sera burst out, crossing her arms. Rose didn't spend too much time dwelling on Steve and Sera. They loved each other way too much to break up over something small.

Everyone patted Sera on the back a little and returned to their own activities. Fiona and Amy were discussing Jake, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Amy had liked him since sixth-year. Al returned to staring not-so-subtly at Fiona. Rose would have liked to tell him that Fiona had liked him since fifth-year, just as he liked her, but she knew that Fiona would blow up at her if she did. Besides, their obliviousness couldn't last long.

Thea returned to her nap.

Rose and Scorpius were left alone. Scorpius turned to Rose. "So..."

"So..." Rose agreed. They didn't have much to talk about, as they had barely spoken to each other over the six years they had attended Hogwarts. But they did have one thing in common...

"Who's Hufflepuff's new Beater? Since Jordan left last year, they've got to replace him," Scorpius asked, mirroring Rose's thoughts.

They talked pleasurably for a while about Quidditch, classes, and NEWTS.

Rose yawned widely as Scorpius prattled on about how he was going to fail Ancient Runes. She was only half-listening, which she knew was rude, but she was still so sleepy from waking up at 4:00 AM this morning.

Soon she was drifting off into a deep sleep...

* * *

 **And that was the chapter! Let me know what you thought by reviewing! I thought I would update sooner, but I kinda couldn't decide what I wanted to happen in this chapter, so it took longer than I thought.**

 **I think I'm going to stick with Friday as my update day. Friday or earlier.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm back with chapter three! Thank you to the person who followed my story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or Fred wouldn't have died.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Rose yawned and groggily picked up her head from where it was resting on Scorpius's shoulder.

Wait... what?

Rose's eyes widened as she realized where she was. She'd fallen asleep in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and a look outside the window told her that it was late afternoon, and it would only be a few hours until they reached Hogwarts.

Scorpius had fallen asleep, too, and he was still snoring slightly. But in their sleep, they'd somehow ended up with their arms around each other, hands tangled in each other's hair.

Thea was still asleep on the seat across from them, and Fiona and Al had ended up in the same position as Scorpius and Rose. Sera was giggling at all of them as she looked up from the book she was pretending to read.

Rose disentangled herself from Scorpius, blushing. Sliding her hands out from his surprisingly silky hair, she turned to the laughing Sera. "Shut up," she scolded. Sera only laughed harder.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone had changed into their robes after finally waking up, even Thea. That girl did nothing but sleep!

Rose stepped off the train and onto the familiar platform, heading for the thestral-led carriages. Rose, thankfully, couldn't see them. The carriage at the head of the line belonged solely to the Heads, and she walked toward it apprehensively.

Scorpius followed, robes swishing around him. The rain was still relentlessly pouring down, the sky black with clouds.

They climbed inside and sighed in relief.

"Why does it almost always have to rain on the day we come here?" Scorpius complained. Rose agreed.

"That's England for you. Or, well, Scotland, I guess."

"Yeah. I wouldn't fancy being a thestral right now," Scorpius said, referring to the invisible horses who were leading the carriage in the downpour. Rose cringed at the thought.

Soon, they arrived at the castle and stepped out of the carriage into the torrential downpour. Rose took one step with her thin leather boots and slipped on the slick stones underneath her feet.

Luckily, Scorpius caught her arm before she could go tumbling into the sharp rocks and helped her stand upright.

"Thanks," Rose said breathlessly.

"No problem."

They walked into the castle, Rose stepping very carefully.

"Mr. Malfoy! Ms. Granger-Weasley!" Professor McGonagall called from the front of the Entrance Hall. Rose and Scorpius headed for her. "Meet me after the feast."

Rose nodded, knowing what would happen. Professor McGonagall would show them their dormitory and common room, as they were no longer staying with their respective houses. Rose knew she would visit the Gryffindor common room very often, however. All her friends and younger relatives would be there, and as much as she would love having a quieter space to study, she'd miss living with her friends and family.

* * *

A few minutes later, after the Sorting, everyone was shoveling food into their mouths, famished from the train ride. The Great Hall was full, and the ceiling was dark and foreboding with it's billowing, inky clouds. "I reckon the house-elves cook better every year!" said Amy, swallowing a large mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Cheers, Amy!" Sera laughed, lifting her goblet of pumpkin juice and clinking it with Amy's. Sera was always the one to talk about how they shouldn't eat too much sugar or meat or whatever it was she prattled on about, but at feasts, even she dug in with fervor.

"Last year, I saw the house-elves on their weekend off for the month," Fiona said with the air of someone who knew a secret. Rose's mother had made life a lot easier for house-elves before she'd risen to Minister. "They were down at the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer, but the poor things kept trying to help Madam Betty! They cleaned their own glasses and plates and everything. Madam Betty was so happy, she didn't even make them pay! Guess we know how to get free butterbeer now." Madam Betty was Madam Rosmerta's niece, and she'd taken over the bar-tending after her aunt had started getting old.

"They should have gone down to the Hog's Head and tried that. Those glasses haven't been cleaned since our grandparents went to school here!" Rose joked.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall stood up. "Students!" she said, magnifying her voice. The Great Hall quieted and it's occupants turned to her. "Today begins another school year! And, as always, there are many announcements to make. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that all products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are banned from school, and they will be confiscated if found in your possession. We also have a new Head Girl and Head Boy, Miss Rose Granger-Weasley and Mr. Scorpius Malfoy."

The whole hall turned to Rose, who smiled a little back at them.

"It is our hope that this year will be a good one for all of you, new first years and returning seventh years alike. Here's to a new year at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said, raising her goblet in a toast. The rest of the hall copied her and drank from their glasses.

After that, everyone shuffled out of the Great Hall, Prefects calling for the first years and fourth years stuffing some extra food into their mouths. Rose went up to the High Table, where everyone but Professor McGonagall was finishing up their food and leaving.

"Ah, yes, Miss Granger-Weasley and Mr. Malfoy. Come along, then," Professor McGonagall ordered. Both followed her up the marble staircase, to the fifth floor of the castle.

There was a portrait of a dragon, a large, feisty Chinese Fireball. "The password is Augamenti," Professor McGonagall told them.

"Ironic for a dragon," Scorpius smirked. Rose hid a smile.

Professor McGonagall ignored him. "You will have separate dormitories and share a common room, which is where the Prefect meetings will be held. There is an adjoining library for your personal use. I expect you two not to misuse your privilege of having a space all to yourselves. Now, if you need anything, you may ask me." And she walked off with a nod to both of them.

"Augamenti," Rose said to the painting. The Chinese Fireball roared in response, filling the frame with fire. The flames cleared to show that a hole had been burned into the portrait, large enough for a person to step through.

"Whoa," Scorpius complimented. They both stepped through the hole, waiting to see what happened next. As they turned back to the portrait, the portrait mended itself so that there was no sign of it burning in the first place.

Rose turned toward the common room. It was decorated with hangings of all four house colors, and the Hogwarts emblem was on every surface. A warm fireplace crackled in front of a large, plush sofa. A few tables were arranged in the room, and three doors were on different walls.

One door was red, and Rose assumed that was hers. Scorpius's door was green, and the last one was brown. Rose opened the door to the brown one while Scorpius headed into the green one to explore the dormitory. The brown door led to an immense library, almost as big as Hogwarts's main library.

Bookshelves lined the walls, floor to ceiling. Tomes of every color and size were arranged neatly throughout the room. Rose ran her hands over the spines of a few books near her. They had barely been used.

"You really like books," Scorpius said from the entrance. Rose whirled around, startled. She realized her mouth was open, and she swiftly shut it.

"How observant," she teased. "You know ever so much about me."

"I know a lot about you, Rose," Scorpius replied with a smirk.

"Like what?"

"Hmm... how about the fact that you want to be a Chaser, not an Auror?" Scorpius said, probably expecting a big reaction.

All he got was a, "Why on earth would you think that?" On the inside, though, Rose was freaking out. If Scorpius had noticed, had anyone from her family?

"Come on, Rose. You adore that broomstick of yours, and you practice practically more than you study. And you study _all the time._ " Scorpius said.

Rose was speechless. She had a million things she would have said to defend herself, but looking into Scorpius's knowing gray eyes, she found she couldn't lie to him. "I- you- please don't tell anyone."

"Why?"

Rose was starting to feel more and more desperate. "Scorpius... my parents have been saying they want me to be an Auror since I was born."

"What do _you_ want, Rose? Your parents would be proud of you no matter what you chose to do!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"It's too late now, anyway. When we were talking about career choices, I told McGonagall-"

"You don't need to do good in classes to play Quidditch. All you need is talent. And, Rose, I've seen you play. You have tons of that."

"I-" Rose stammered. "Scorpius, just promise you won't tell anyone."

"Rose-"

"Just promise. It's my job to figure it out." Rose cut him off.

"Ro-"

"Scorpius!"

"Fine. I won't tell anyone. But, Rose, this is your life. Your parents already made their history. Shouldn't you get a turn to make yours?" Scorpius said, running his hands through his neatly cut hair.

"I can't disappoint my parents, Scorpius."

"Your dad loves Quidditch! And-"

But Rose was already running out of the library and into her dormitory.

* * *

 **I feel like these chapter are just getting shorter and shorter. I'll try to make something interesting happen in the next one. Friday will still be my update day... even though I have never actually put up anything on a Friday. But you'll have the next chapter on or before Friday.**

 **Thanks for reading, and see ya next time!**

 **-Cupcakes Can Write Too**


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm back with the next chapter! I know that the chapters have been really short so far... so I'm trying to think of ideas to make the chapters better. I promise I'll try to make the story better soon. This chapter has Rose reading War and Peace because I am, too, right now, and I am very similar to Rose (I study a lot, too) so I wanted to add it in there. I think I might have spelled some names wrong, however...**

 **Thank you to anyone who followed or favorited- that's not even a word lol- and thanks for 100 views!**

 **This chapter wasn't just Scorpius and Rose... it also focused on some of the OCs.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Rose woke up from a restless sleep the next morning in her dormitory. It felt strange to have the whole room to herself after six years of sharing with her best friends. She decided that she'd take the homework she would undoubtedly be assigned today to the Gryffindor common room to visit her friends.

She got dressed, neatly arranged her books in her bags, and made her bed tidily. She was Rose, after all, and being a neat freak was her lifestyle. There was still a half an hour until breakfast-she'd gotten out of bed as early as possible- and she took the time to sit in the shared common room and read.

Rose had always liked Muggle novels as well as the wizarding world's texts from Flourish and Blotts. She'd decided to try War and Peace, a well-known Muggle book. It was slow going, but the half an hour before breakfast passed in a blur of Pierre, Natasha, and Count Andrei, along with two Annas that frequently got mixed up in her head.

She glanced up at the clock and decided to give herself five more minutes of reading. Breakfast wouldn't be starting for another ten minutes.

Unfortunately, her decision to remain in the common room for a little longer was changed by Scorpius's arrival. Rose had almost forgotten that he was sharing the common room with her. He was no longer across the school from her, down in Slytherin's dungeons.

"Um... hi?" Scorpius said awkwardly, running his hands through his styled hair. Rose didn't even notice him. She was too engrossed in her book. "Rose? Rose? OI!"

Rose jumped and looked up from where she was curled up on the couch. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you... I was reading."

She was sincerely hoping he wasn't about to bring up what they'd talked about last night.

Scorpius laughed. "Yeah, I've seen how you are when you're reading." Rose shrugged apologetically.

"Wanna go to breakfast together?" she asked. Rose's mouth had just opened of it's own accord and blurted out what her polite sub-conscious would have expected her to say.

Great.

It wasn't that she really minded talking to Scorpius, in fact, she enjoyed it more than she would care to admit, but she really didn't know what to do. She remembered her thoughts over the past few years, that she should stay away from him because he was reckless and because of the incident in 4th year.

But recently, she'd been thinking about it... and she was starting to develop an argument for the contrary. Al had talked Scorpius into it, and they'd done it with good intentions-everything she'd realized on the train to Hogwarts the previous day.

"Yeah," Scorpius said, a gleam of joy in his eyes. Rose knew he'd been waiting since first year for her to acknowledge him, and now that she was, he seemed to be delighted by it.

Rose put down her enormous book and stood up, straightening her robes.

Talking with Scorpius that morning was different. It wasn't awkward as it had been before-they just seemed to have so much in common that they never got bored. By the time they reached the Great Hall, Rose had learned that Scorpius hated peppermint and loved fudge, while Scorpius had learned that Rose was scared of dogs-pathetic, she knew-but loved cats.

When Rose said goodbye to him as she went to the Gryffindor table... she almost felt disappointed. And when his silver-steel eyes left hers, she found them emblazoned into her memory, distracting her when Thea caught up to her.

"Hey, Rose! How's the Head Girl dorm?"

Rose had, admittedly, been gushing to all of her friends about how excited she was that she was getting her own dorm and a library. As a result, she'd successfully peaked their interest.

Scorpius still in the midst of her thoughts, she was a little slow to respond. "Huh? Oh... the library's amazing!" And then she was back to normal, telling Thea all about how everything even _smelled_ like books there, and how the beds were huge, and how-

"All right, Rose! I ask one question and it takes you years to finish!" Rose's rosy cheeks were dusted with a light layer of pink. But that didn't stop her wit from eliciting a snarky response.

"The teachers _love_ that on exams, you know?" Rose said innocently, not-so-subtly hinting at the fact that Thea had barely scraped a pass on her OWLs. She knew Thea didn't mind the teasing and even did a lot of it herself; Rose wasn't the kind of person to bug someone about something that offended them.

Thea rolled her eyes. "Always the know-it-all, Rose."

With an exaggerated flounce of her long, dark, red curls, Rose sat down at the Gryffindor table. She wasn't just a bookish, nerdy pushover. Rose had always had a rebellious streak (according to her parents, at least). Rose didn't know about rebellion, but she did appreciate that she wasn't one of the girls that went moony-eyed over a boy. She handled it with wit and a dignified amount of poise.

She hid all her insecurities deep, deep down.

Thea was probably the one that was the most similar to Rose in their little group. Of course, she was more confident and cared much, much less about what people thought of her. Her black hair was cut choppily in a pixie-cut that she'd been sporting since 4th year. When Jessica Boot-daughter of Terry Boot- had told her the day she'd shown up with it in the Gryffindor common room that she 'would have to be lucky to charm the giant squid with that look', Thea had responded, with a fake, breathy tone to her voice, "How did you know? He's picking me up for a romantic walk this evening at 7!"

Suffice it to say that the common room had laughed with Thea that night, not Jessica.

Sera was the classic French beauty of the group. In fact, her mother was a Veela, and Sera had the long, luscious blonde hair and kaleidoscope, doe-like eyes to show for it. Fiona was the lovable, petite baby of the group, which she was constantly teased about. She was only four months younger than all of them... but teenage girls will be teenage girls. She had medium-length brown hair and emerald-green eyes that the seventh-year boys were going crazy over. Last but not least was Amy. She was the mature one in the group, even though, under different circumstances, that would have been Rose. Whenever she felt someone in the group needed to be reprimanded, she'd put a hand on her hip, push back her square-framed glasses, and pretty much be the angry librarian. But everyone loved her all the same, and she was constantly pestered about being so uptight. However, they'd quickly figured out that they needed brown-eyed, black-haired Amy to keep them in line when, after one week of being 'normal', Fiona, Thea, and Sera had gotten detention for a month without Amy to rein them in.

Everyone fit together, and Rose knew that she'd have these friends for the rest of her life. Even though she would undoubtedly annoy three of them when she picked the Maid of Honor for her wedding. Well, she could worry about that after 10 whole years... because right now, there were many other things for her to dwell on.

Rose had sat down next to Fiona, who was sitting next to Amy. Thea and Sera were across from them, and they seemed to have started arguing about something.

"I can't believe you did that!" Sera screeched at Thea. Fortunately, the Great Hall was filled with noise at the time, so no one noticed Sera yelling.

"Wait... what happened?" Rose asked worriedly.

"Thea told Steve I said I was sorry! _I'm not sorry!_ I didn't even-"

"So this is about Thea being a good friend and trying to fix your relationship?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Rose! This is about Thea lying to my boyfriend!" Sera said, turning on Rose.

"What are you even so mad at him about?" Rose asked.

"He was kissing Jessica Boot!" Sera exclaimed. Further down the table, Steve, who had heard, glowered at her. She glared right back.

"Sera... Jessica must have kissed _him_ and then made sure you were there when it happened. Steve adores you, and, to be frank, there's no way anyone would choose you over Boot." Fiona countered.

"He's probably furious at you for doubting him in the first place!" Rose said to a Sera who was finally calming down.

"So now I have to be the bigger person and go apologize?" Sera said gloomily.

"YES!" the whole group chorused.

"Great." Sera grumbled. After Rose glared at her for a while, she stalked off down the table and mumbled something to Steve. Rose and the rest of her friends couldn't hear anything, being out of earshot, but they could see as Steve rolled his eyes, shook his head, and finally gave in when Sera looked like she was about to cry.

"Relationships," Rose shook her head. "A waste of time."

"Hats off to that," Thea agreed, finally turning to her food. Rose had, of course, already wolfed hers down, and was now finishing off her pumpkin juice with a large swig.

"I heard Scorpius was dating that Slytherin sixth-year- Olivia, was it?" Fiona shared as Sera came back with a smile on her face and the conversation turned back to normal things.

Rose choked on her pumpkin juice.

"Just kidding, Rose, but, uh, seems to me that you wouldn't really like that, would you, Rose?" Fiona teased with a smirk on her face.

Rose put down her goblet, trying to maintain a picture of dignity. "It wasn't that," Rose defended, "there was something in the juice."

"Sure there was," Sera chided, joining in on the torment.

"Shut up, the lot of you!" Rose said with finality.

They all rolled their eyes with knowing expressions and went back to discussing the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. His name was Mr. Clover, and he was Irish. Apparently, he had a lot of experience with Dark creatures and such, so Professor McGonagall had asked him to take over the class after Mr. Button, the old teacher, had retired.

Rose looked at her new schedule, grimacing at double Divination. Why she'd taken the subject was beyond her, but her second-year self had apparently thought that the Inner Eye would be a cool thing to explore. Her seventh-year self wished she'd taken her father's advice and dismissed it as a bunch of baloney. Not to mention that Professor Trelawny was taking the seventh-year class, so they wouldn't even be able to study constellations with Firenze.

She brightened at Care of Magical Creatures and Potions, two of her favorite subjects, along with the obvious DADA-Defense Against the Dark Arts.

* * *

The rest of the day left the seventh-years openly cursing their teachers' names. Every single teacher, even Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures, had assigned boatloads of homework. Even Rose herself was feeling overwhelmed. She had two essays due tomorrow, and when Jake Anderson caught up to her at dinner and announced Quidditch practice was starting next week, she felt like clubbing him over the head with her Firebolt 5000.

Rose reached the Heads common room exhausted after dinner, pulling out a quill and parchment. She was starting with Professor Clover's essay on Obscurials, which was two rolls of parchment long.

Scorpius arrived in the common room not long after, and they both worked in silence until about 3:00 AM, when Rose decided she'd had enough. "Three rolls of parchment is good enough for Hagrid, isn't it?"

"He only assigned one!" Scorpius said in awe. "I've barely finished it, and you've written three?"

Rose shrugged, a tired smile on her face. "He'll give me extra credit," she said.

"I think I'll stick with Exceeds Expectations for now in Care of Magical Creatures. Muggle Studies is a different story."

"You take Muggle Studies?" Rose asked. She didn't know many people that did.

"Surprising, isn't it? A Malfoy taking Muggle Studies?" Scorpius said, leaning back in his chair and stretching, a grin on his face.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Rose assured him quickly.

"I know. Besides, I'm absolutely failing it," Scorpius confessed.

"It's the first day!" Rose laughed. "You can't be failing already?"

Scorpius nodded gloomily. "This essay sounds like Al wrote it."

Rose giggled. "Don't let him hear you saying that. And, you know, my mom's Muggleborn, and so are my grandparents. So while I'm not taking Muggle Studies, I happen to know a few things about Muggles. I could help you if you like."

"Really?" Scorpius said, looking up at her. "Great! You can start by explaining to me what the bloody hell a pelevision is!"

Rose sat on the couch next to him, swatting his arm half-heartedly. "Language," she scolded, "and it's _television._ "

"But what _is_ it?" Scorpius asked. Rose rolled her eyes.

"I take it you've never seen Back to the Future, then?" Rose asked, referring to one of her favorite Muggle movies.

"Say what?" Scorpius asked.

And the next few hours were spent discussing Muggle appliances that Scorpius continued to mispronounce.

* * *

 **So I have a few ideas for chapters after this... so the story will get better!**

 **Until then, please review!**

 **See ya next time!**

 **-Cupcakes Can Write Too**


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm back with the next chapter! It's only been... what? 9 months? Is anyone still reading this? I sincerely hope so! I think I'll be able to start updating again soon... but I'm not going to promise anything because I'm not the kind of person who likes saying that and then going back on it. Either way, I'm REALLY, REALLY sorry about discontinuing for so long. School was a very time-consuming torture. But I promise I'll at least try to start writing more of this story soon.**

 **Anyways, since I had the idea for this story, there are a few things I've wanted to happen during it. Since I'm making it up as I go, things are as unexpected to me as they might be to you! So, for this chapter, it's...**

 **Wait for it...**

 **Drumroll please...**

 **A QUIDDITCH MATCH!**

 **This may not be a big deal to anyone else, but when I was reading the HP series, I loved it when J.K. Rowling did Quidditch matches. There should have been more of them! I hope I did the sport justice.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Rose adjusted her Quidditch robes nervously, gripping her Firebolt 5000. She could hear the roars of the students in the stadium outside as they eagerly waited for the match to begin.

Jake, the Captain, was pacing the changing rooms, waiting for everyone to show up.

This year, the Gryffindor team was better than ever. Rose was a Chaser along with Zoey Spinnet and Jonathan Bloom. The Beaters were Jack Thistle and Thomas Finch. Jake was the Keeper while Amy was the Seeker. She was the only one of Rose's friends who played Quidditch.

"All right! Everyone here? Goo,." Jake began. "Now, this is the best team Gryffindor has had since the Chosen One himself attended Hogwarts. Rose, you could play for England one day! Zoey, Jonathan, you're probably some of the best Chasers Hogwarts has ever seen! Jack, Thomas, you two are amazing at thrashing those Slytherins! And Amy, you've never lost us a match!" Amy blushed not-so-subtly at this. "So let's get out there and show them how it's done!"

"GO GRYFFINDOR!" The whole team chorused. Jake had always known exactly what to say to inspire them.

They walked confidently out of the changing rooms and onto the Quidditch pitch. Today, they were playing Slytherin. The green-robed players were standing on the opposite side of the pitch, waving at the audience. When they spotted the approaching Gryffindors, they walked over and shook hands as Madam Hooch ordered. Slytherin's captain, Flint, was smirking at their team. Rose shook it off. She wasn't going to let herself be unsettled by a glare.

Scorpius waved good-naturedly. Rose smiled back, hesitantly. They were opponents right now, after all.

With a sharp blow from Madam Hooch's whistle and an extra-loud roar from the crowd, the match began.

The commentator, Lorcan Scamander, was a Gryffindor, and thus, heavily biased. He and his brother, Lysander, took turns commentating.

"And the match begins!" Lorcan said into the megaphone. "Spinnet's got the Quaffle, passes to Bloom, passes to Weasley, passes to Bloom again, passes to Spinnet-Oh, there's a Bludger! Swatted away by Thistle, good save there, mate! And Weasley with the Quaffle, flying to the goalpost... COME ON, ROSE!" he cheered her on.

Rose shot through the air like a bullet, feinted left, threw right-

"AND SHE SCORES! 10-0 TO GRYFFINDOR!"

The crowd was singing a version of 'Weasley Is Our King' that they'd modified back in Rose's fourth year.

"Weasley is our Queen!" they chanted. Rose pumped her fist into the air to let off her feeling of accomplishment and turned back to the match, which had begun once more.

"Bloom with the Quaffle, passes to Spinnet, passes to Weasley, passes to Bloom-grabbed by Flint, passes to Dawson, passes to Fern, passes to Dawson-HE'S GOING FOR THE GOAL, JAKE!" Lorcan warned.

The crowd-and Rose-watched on tenterhooks as Dawson aimed for the goal, threw the ball-

"SAVE! And Weasley's got the Quaffle, passes to Bloom, back to Weasley- IS THAT THE SNITCH I SEE?!" Lysander screamed. The crowd erupted as Scorpius and Amy dived simultaneously- and then spiraled off as a Bludger nearly took both of their heads off.

"OI! THOMPSON! WATCH WHAT TEAM'S SEEKER YOU'RE HITTING, EH?" roared Flint. A muscly boy on a Nimbus, Thomspon looked ready to clock him about the head, but with a glare that made Rose stifle a giggle, he zoomed off with his bat to torment some other players.

Rose looked up just in time to catch the Quaffle coming straight at her. And then she was lost in the blur of the game again. "Quaffle with Weasley, goes to Spinnet, back to Weasley, now to Bloom, over to Spinnet at the other end- she's going for it, folks- SHE SHOOTS!" The red-robed portion of the crowd groaned as a Bludger blocked her path.

Rose winced as she saw Zoey clutch her arm as she flipped off the Beater, and grinned as she flashed everyone else a thumbs-up. "Okay, Spinnet looks all right- and here they go again! Fern to Dawson, Dawson to Fern, Fern to Flint... and HE SHOOTS! And he _scores,_ dammit!" McGonagall shot Lorcan a glare as he sheepishly handed the mic to Lysander.

Rose groaned with the rest. "Score's all tied up, 10 to 10. Come on, Gryffindor!" Lysander's voice echoed from the mic.

And then they were off again. "Weasley to Bloom, Bloom to Spinnet, Spinnet shoots... AND SCORES! 20-10 to Gryffindor, let's GO!" Lysander hollered.

Rose grinned, feeling that amazing rush tingle through her veins. She flying, it was beautiful outside, and Gryffindor was winning. What more could she ask for? Up here, everything was gone- everything but the thrill of the game and the tantalizing prospect of the win. Up here, she was free.

Up here... she was in danger of being hit by a Bludger. She ducked as one whistled past her, ruffling her braided hair. _Head in the game, Rose._

She caught the Quaffle from Zoey, passed to Henry, and then watched as he successfully dunked it through the goalpost. _YES!_

All of a sudden, a hush seemed to fall on the crowd. Rose's stomach started fluttering as she watched apprehensively as Scorpius and Amy dived simultaneously again. _Come on, come on, come on..._

As much as she loved Quidditch, this was the one part that never ceased to make her queasy. Watching and waiting as the Seekers dived or skyrocketed or whatever it was... it was torture that left her nearly hanging off the end of her broom.

The ground loomed closer and closer as the Seekers dived, and Rose could just make out a glint of gold somewhere ahead of them as they stretched out their fingertips...

"AND THE SNITCH IS CAUGHT BY SCORPIUS MALFOY!" said Lysander with a horrible groan right after. "Well, that's the game, folks. Hopefully we have a better one next time," he said glumly.

Rose felt her spirits sink low and lower.

 _It's one game, Rose. It's_ fine. _You can win all the rest._

But Gryffindor only had four more games before the Quidditch Cup. They'd have to win all of them by at least fifty points now to even make it in to the finals.

So when Rose touched down to the grass, she was in a very bad mood indeed.

Everything that had previously seemed nice about today- it was October, nearly Halloween, it was sunny and amazing and they had no homework for once... was tarnished. She wanted to _punch_ something.

 _Okay, calm down, Rose._

Jake clapped her on the shoulder. "It's all right, Rose. We're Gryffindors. We'll win all the rest."

Rose offered him a weak smile. Okay, now she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry... and _then_ punch something. But she had homework to do...

And, as she'd just remembered, a dorm to share with the Seeker who'd just won Slytherin a match. Who would also likely gloat.

Well... that wasn't really like Scorpius... at least not the Scorpius she'd seen so far. But _still,_ it wouldn't be much fun, would it?

Rose made her way back to the changing rooms, the roar of the crowd echoing behind her. The Slytherins were singing- because, honestly, when were they _not?-_ and the the Ravenclaws were cheering (they'd been rooting for Slytherin this time) and the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were yelling.

At least two fights had broken out by the time Rose stepped out wearing normal robes again, already missing the smell and feel of the leather boots and gloves and accessories.

"Hey! Weasley! Good match, eh?" called a sixth-year Slytherin. Rose clenched her jaw and turned back to swiftly walk to her dorms. She was so not in the mood for this.

"Hey! Rose!" Oh, god, what Slytherin was it _this_ time? She'd only walked five feet away from the last one! Rose turned, about ready to kick someone, and came face to face with Malfoy.

 _What, it's_ Malfoy _now?_

 _Shut up, you're pissed and it's not like anyone can hear you anyways... this is literally you_ thinking _._

"What, Scorpius? Congratulations on the win, I guess," she grumped.

Scorpius ran a sheepish hand through his hair. "I just... I wanted to say good game? I know you didn't win, but...?"

Rose rolled her eyes, a small smile making its way onto her face. "All right. Good game. We're totally crushing you in the next one, though!" she yelled after him as he grinned and turned to leave.

She turned back to head to the dorms, her feet carrying her back into Hogwarts and up the marble staircase and somehow, she was standing in front of the Fat Lady before she knew it.

The woman in the portrait smiled and asked, "Password?" Rose paused. _Crap... no one told me the password to the common room._

"Uhhh... any chance you could let me in? Just like that? I am Head Girl...?" Rose stuttered. The Fat Lady shook her head.

"Sorry. We've had incidents, you know, with people forgetting the password or the wrong people _knowing_ the password, I suppose you wouldn't know, but about seventy years ago-"

"Rose!" said a voice from behind her. Rose turned to see a tall boy with raven-black hair and dark eyes grin at her. He hurried up to the portrait and said the password: "Godric."

"Ummm..." Rose began as the portrait hole opened. "Do I know you?"

The boy ran a hand through his hair. "No, I don't think so. I'm a seventh-year. Name's Henry London. Just transferred, actually, from Ilvermorny," he said, grinning at her again. Rose felt her face begin to grow hot.

Having blushing Weasley skin was honestly the _worst_ part of being in this family.

"Um, well, I guess you know that my name's Rose," she said a little awkwardly.

"Yeah, you're a little famous," the boy- _Henry_ , Rose reminded herself- laughed. "Best Chaser Hogwarts has had in a good few centuries."

The blush on her cheeks only got worse. "Oh, um, thanks. But seeing how we did _this_ match... that was the worst loss we've taken in a good long while," she admitted. "Gryffindor's got a reputation, you know, and I wouldn't want to ruin it in my last year at Hogwarts."

Henry smiled again, and Rose's face felt like it was on fire.

How had she been telling herself only a few weeks ago that she didn't swoon over boys? Because it seemed like that was changing... and _rapidly._

"I hear Slytherin are having a party," Henry said, interrupting her thoughts. Rose scowled.

"I'm sure they are," she said darkly. To her surprise, Henry laughed once more.

"And I hear the Weird Sisters are coming," he continued.

Rose raised an eyebrow as she flopped down on one of the cozy, red armchairs around the fireplace. The common room was empty at the moment, as everyone was still off on the pitch, slowly making their way back to Hogwarts. It was just Rose that had hurried to the common room... and, apparently, Henry London.

For some reason, her cheeks flamed again.

Ten minutes ago, she'd been worried about the Quidditch matches that actually did matter to her, and now she was swooning over a boy she'd just met? Nope. Not Rose Weasley.

"Yeah," Henry continued, sitting down as well as Rose worked to look anywhere but at his face to cool her blush. As she felt it starting to fade, he grinned again and her stomach flipped and all her progress was undone. Trying her best to ignore it, she listened as Henry went on. "I mean, I doubt the Weird Sisters are coming... but you know Slytherin. They have at least ten blow-out parties a year."

"More like one every Friday night," Rose corrected. She'd been to a few and found them generally pretty boring. Sure, there was music and dancing and drinks- someone _always_ snuck them in- but there wasn't much else to hold her attention, and most of her friends weren't party people anyways.

"Could be fun, though," Henry mused. Rose's stomach flipped again. Was he going to go? And... was he considering asking her?

 _Shut it. You met him five minutes ago._

 _Well... he could ask as friends?_

 _You have homework._

Rose tugged herself out of the mental back-and-forth and smiled at Henry. What could it hurt by asking? "Are you going, then? Even though they'll be celebrating Slytherin's victory?"

Henry shrugged. "Maybe. It's later tonight, though. Guess I have time to worry about it. Done Clover's essay yet?"

Rose groaned. "Nope. Forgot. Quidditch can be distracting," she laughed. "You said you transferred from Ilvermorny?"

Henry nodded. "We just moved. England's cooler than America. They let you keep your wands over the summer here!"

"But aren't you seventeen yet?"

Henry shook his head. "Two more months. You?"

"Three."

And they talked for a while, until the common room filled with grumbling students. When the rest of the Quidditch team trudged in, looking crestfallen, Rose decided she should probably go talk to them as well. "See you around, Henry," she said, getting up.

Henry grinned. _God, does he ever stop?_ Of course, she couldn't say that she minded all that much... "See you around, Rose. Maybe at that party?"

Rose lifted a shoulder. "We'll see. I've got a Quidditch team to see to, though."

Waving to Henry, she wandered over to where Jake had flopped down with Amy not far behind. "So... rough match, huh?"

Jake sighed. "Okay. If we beat Ravenclaw by 100 points, we should be in good position. Then we'll beat Hufflepuff by at least 50, and Ravenclaw again by 100."

"Tall order," Jack said gloomily. He and Thomas were sitting side by side, Thomas squinting at a roll of parchment- probably some homework.

Jake managed a grin. "Come on, guys. You're all good enough to play professionally." There was a round of protests at this, even though the compliment made them all feel a little better. "One match doesn't ruin the season. We could still win. We _will_ still win. Trust me."

"Well, you're a great captain, Jake, but, honestly, I'd rather be the one throwing a party tonight in _our_ common room. Not going to the Slytherins' to watch them worship Scorpius."

Rose winced a little, but Amy was right. This party would just be another opportunity for girls to gawk and swoon over Scorpius Malfoy... as if they didn't do it enough already.

She spent way too much time afterward telling herself she wasn't jealous.

 _Don't you like Henry, anyways?_

She honestly didn't know. She'd just met the boy anyways. She had Quidditch and Head duties and classes to worry about. Boys were not on that list.

"Me too, Amy. It'll be us every time after this one," Jake promised. "Honestly, I'd love to spike the punch and make them all go bonkers."

Everyone managed a laugh at that one.

"Don't give anybody any ideas," Zoey said, nudging Jonathan. Jonathan grinned mischievously.

"No promises."

"Either way, keep your heads up, get ready for double the amount of Quidditch practice- _don't_ look at me like that, I've already booked the field for every hour of the day and night- and most importantly, don't drink any punch," Jake ended, leaving Rose's spirits much higher than they'd been.

What if there'd been scouts at that game? There hadn't, of course, but there would be at the Quidditch Cup. And if she didn't even make it there... all the spots on all the good teams could be filled by the time she got around to getting interviewed after graduation.

 _Auror, Rose. Department of Magical Law Enforcement._

Deciding to leave _that_ argument for later, she took comfort in the fact that her team was doing something about their loss. Next time, they'd win.

Looking around, Rose chatted with Sera and Thea a little before glancing at the clock. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and she'd missed lunch and had a boatload of homework that she didn't want to leave for Sunday. (Homework on Sundays was the _actual_ worst thing in existence.)

"Bye, Ser. Brush your _hair,_ Thea," she giggled as a goodbye. Thea's hair looked like a hurricane had taken place within its curly depths.

Still laughing, Rose headed out of the portrait hole, then nearly walked right into Argus Filch.

She nearly _sprinted_ down that hallway.

* * *

Scorpius wandered around the Head dorms' common room, not wanting to write any essays but not wanting to go face the crowds of Slytherins who were already celebrating in the house common room.

As he paced around some more, fiddling with his robes, the portrait burned away and Rose stepped through, panting like she'd run a marathon. "Filch nearly sicced Mrs. Norris on me," she explained breathlessly.

Rose flopped down on one of the armchairs, looking out the open window at the falling leaves and red foliage. "I love fall..." she said, catching her breath. "Don't you?" She smiled, and Scorpius's heart went absolutely crazy. Her blue eyes were bright, and she certainly looked happier than she'd been a few hours ago after the match. And her gorgeous red hair was flowing down her back like a flame on a candle...

Rose Weasley was the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts- the most beautiful girl in the _world-_ and Scorpius was delighted that she was actually speaking to him now.

He made the mistake of saying it out loud, however. "I'm glad you talk to me now. You know, you never used to..." he trailed off as Rose's expression fell.

 _Damn it._ What had he done now?

"Oh. Sorry, Scorpius... I know I was really prejudiced when I was younger. I... I hope I'm not like that anymore?" she said it like a question at the end. She looked so genuinely ashamed that Scorpius hurried to take back his words.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. Really, it's fine. You were by far not the worst. I'm just saying that it's nice. And now that we're talking more... I think you'd be more open to-"

"I know what's going to come out of your mouth, and you know what the answer to that is," Rose said, back to her normal self. Although her words were less harsh than usual and her eyes still looked a little lost.

Scorpius grinned and shook his head. _One day, Rose. One day..._ "Come on," he said over his shoulder as he headed into his dorm. "You know you love me."

* * *

 **Was that cringey? I hope not...**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.**

 **Again, REALLY sorry for disappearing for nine months. I'll try my best to not let it happen again.**

 **See ya next time! (Which will probably be soon... at least by the Friday after this one.)**

 **-Cupcakes Can Write Too**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey people of the fanfiction-reading and fanfiction-writing world! I'm back with the next chapter! I think it's a day earlier than I promised, but I had some free time and decided to just write it all out. And now I have some crazy ideas for the rest of the story... I was intending for it to be kinda serious with them deciding futures and everything... yeah, now they're going to be acting like idiots and having roller-coaster rides of fun for the school year lol. But I'm cool with that. It's summer and SCHOOL'S FINALLY OUT (tomorrow's my last day YAY) and I'm in the mood for some fun!**

 **I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Scorpius grinned as another girl waved at him beneath the flashing lights and booming speakers set up in the Slytherin common room. That girl had blue eyes as well... but they weren't as beautiful as Rose's.

 _Come on, Scorpius. Get her out of your head for one night._

But he couldn't. He just loved everything about her and was going crazy over it.

"Hey, Scorpius! Wanna dance?" asked a different girl- a sweet-faced blonde. Wow, these girls just popped up from _nowhere,_ sometimes. Scorpius shrugged, smiling.

"Why not?"

As some crazy-fast electronic music played over the speakers- "TURN IT DOWN OR MCGONAGALL'S GONNA CATCH US!"- Scorpius steered the girl to the center of the dance floor, the crowd parting easily for him.

He loved how that was the case now. That being 'Scorpius Malfoy' wasn't a bad thing anymore, that his name wasn't spoken with disdain and hatred. Being Scorpius Malfoy now meant a great place on the Quidditch team, a fanbase of adoring girls- he wasn't oblivious to all the invitations for dating he'd been getting- and apparently, a spot as the center of all parties.

For once in his life, he was _popular,_ and it wasn't because he was Voldemort's son.

His life just felt so good sometimes- his friendship with Al, Quidditch, just being at Hogwarts, his improved relationship with his dad- that it made him want to never stop smiling.

There was only one thing- one _person-_ missing... and then Scorpius Malfoy would be the happiest man on the face of the earth.

Well, after all these girls left him alone.

"So, what's your name?" Scorpius asked in an attempt to be polite as he tried and failed to dance well. There were a lot of things he was good at, and freestyle dancing was not on that list.

"Daisy. I'm a sixth-year in Ravenclaw," the girl smiled. She was the opposite of Scorpius, twirling gracefully.

Scorpius smiled sheepishly. "I'm not very good at this dancing thing," he yelled over the thundering music (McGonagall _would_ be showing up if they didn't turn it down).

"I noticed," the girl said cheekily, then laughed as Scorpius's face turned red.

As they continued talking- or yelling, rather- Scorpius found himself looking over the sea of students for a flash of red hair, or a glint of blue eyes. As much as he tried, he couldn't help but look for Rose.

It was a _party._ You were supposed to dance with crushes... even though it was probably certain that Scorpius had much more than a crush on Rose.

"Looking for Rose Weasley?" Daisy asked. Scorpius started.

"Ummm..." he began, running a hand through his hair as he felt his face turn horribly red. "Is there any chance you'd believe I wasn't?"

Daisy laughed. "None at all. If there are any girls in this crowd who actually think they have a chance with you, they're fooling themselves. You're head over heels for Rose... and everyone with a pair of eyes can see it."

Scorpius just kept on stammering. "Sorry-"

"I didn't ask you to dance because I liked you like that," Daisy giggled. "I just wanted someone to dance with."

The music blared even louder, blocking Scorpius's teasing response. He somehow communicated to Daisy that he'd be right back, and made his way through the crowd to get to wherever the speakers were being operated from.

He'd just realized that he'd been waiting for someone responsible to shut down the music... and that he was the _Head Boy,_ and it was _his_ responsibility.

He could be _really_ smart sometimes.

"OI!" he yelled.

"Hiya, Scor," Al said.

"Al, you're running this thing?" Scorpius asked incredulously. There was sort of a black podium in the corner with a bunch of buttons on it- and Al was standing behind it, pushing random things.

"Thought I'd give it a try. Got no damn idea how to turn it off," Al said, a little frantically now as the buttons flickered.

Scorpius jumped over the podium- "Show off," Al grumbled- and leaned over the stand. After about a minute, he straightened.

"Right. All you have to do to fix it is find someone smarter than us," Scorpius concluded.

All those tiny buttons and knobs and levers were making him dizzy. Magic and technology didn't mix well...

"Wait, Al, this is powered by magic, right?" Scorpius asked. Of course _Hogwarts_ didn't have technology.

Al nodded. "I could just point my wand and zap it... but I tried that and it only made it worse."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, chuckling all the same. "Let's just... ask around?"

Al cocked a brow. "How do you suppose we do that?"

Scorpius grinned, stepping around the podium. "OI! EVERYONE!"

An acceptable amount of people turned to him. "ANYONE KNOW HOW THIS MUGGLE TECHNOLOGY CRAP WORKS?"

There was a round of laughs. "Is that why the music's so damn loud?" someone asked.

Scorpius nodded. "If we want Filch to barge in here and sic Mrs. Norris on us-" he said, remembering something Rose had said- "then this is the right volume to go for."

Someone stepped up to Scorpius, and it was only when she came closer that Scorpius saw who it was.

 _Rose Granger-Weasley._

Wearing an amazing dark blue dress, he might add, with her hair down in long curls and the most smug smile on her face... wait, why exactly was she this satisfied with something?

"Merlin, Scorpius, there's an _off_ button RIGHT THERE!" she said in exasperation, pointing.

She had very nice fingers, really-

"Scorpius!" Al called from behind him. He pushed the right button and everything shut down, including the lights.

There was rather a lot of screaming after that.

Scorpius jumped and looked around wildly, still confused. What was happening? He'd just been staring at Rose, as usual, and then Al had turned it off and everything had... well, turned off.

Unfortunately, that included the fake strobe lights everywhere.

"Um," Scorpius said, trying to be heard over the screaming. "EVERYONE! SHUT IT!"

They did.

"Right. So. Just... stay calm. Light your damn wands, people. Ever heard of a spell called _Lumos?"_ Scorpius said sarcastically.

Everyone cracked up a little as they lit their wands.

"Okay," Scorpius said, looking around. "Um... Rose and I will... go fix it?" he asked, looking at her for help. They were the Heads. They were probably responsible for this as well.

Rose nodded as she fiddled with the buttons on the podium. _Click. Click._

And then the music was back on, the volume much lower. Rose pointed a few things out to Al, who flashed her a thumbs-up, and then turned to Scorpius. "What exactly are we even fixing?" she asked.

Scorpius tried to remember how to form sentences as she looked into his eyes. "Um... you know more about Muggle stuff than I do..."

"Yeah, but these are powered by magic," Rose said.

 _Oh, yeah._

"Then I have no idea, honestly. Think we should just get some candles?" Scorpius said, half-joking.

Rose tilted her head. "Not a bad idea. Yeah, let's do it. Come on."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Where are we getting a couple hundred candles?"

"The House elves," Rose said like it was obvious. "Now, come on!"

Scorpius was getting yanked out of the common room before he had a chance to think.

* * *

Rose felt incredibly self-conscious with this gauzy dress and winged eyeliner and... and whatever the hell else Sera had done to her.

 _Why_ had she agreed to come to this party?

At least she was out of there now- with the suffocating atmosphere and the blinding lights and snogging couples.

But now she was in a hallway, alone with Scorpius Malfoy after having left anyone above third-year at Hogwarts in the common room behind them.

And it was already past curfew, so this trip would have to be short.

"Um, Rose?" Scorpius asked as she nearly sprinted down the hallway. She slowed down a little.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair- _where_ had he gotten that blazer? Of course _Scorpius Malfoy_ was the only boy in school that wore a suit and tie to a Slytherin party in the common room while even the rest of his Quidditch team wore their gear and robes.

She had to admit it looked damn good on him, though.

 _Shut up, Rose._

"Why are we going to the house elves?" Scorpius asked as they ascended from the dungeons. Rose tried her best with the heels on the stairs, noticing that now the top of her head came up to Scorpius's nose versus his collarbone.

"Because. House elves have _everything._ A couple hundred candles is nothing to them. Haven't you seen the Great Hall?" Rose said cheekily.

She heard him laughing a little behind her.

There was a pause in the conversation as they just walked for a few minutes, Rose shivering a little in her dress. It was dark blue and fell to her knees, fitted around her torso but then puffing out in layers of tulle and silk dotted with sparkles at her waist. Silver living was woven into it, and there were silk sleeves that stretched nearly to her elbows. It was nice, all in all, but the silk was cool and the tulle didn't offer much protection from Hogwarts' drafty halls.

"Here," Scorpius said, handing her the black coat of his suit.

Rose blushed. "I... um, really..."

"Seriously. It's fine. These things kind of choke me anyways," he joked as Rose accepted it and slowly stuck her arms in the sleeves.

A very large part of her brain was jumping up and down and screaming _'Scorpius Malfoy just gave you his coat! Scorpius Malfoy. Just. What even- He- What?'_

"So, harsh match, huh?" Scorpius said, jerking her out of her thoughts.

Rose started a little, then slowly nodded, coming to terms with her senses again. "Yeah... Gryffindor's got a tough season ahead of them."

"Well, in terms of the Quidditch Cup, I can't say I'm complaining. But Rose... about Quidditch..."

"You said you'd drop it," Rose said a little sharply, wishing they were closer to the painting of the pear than they were now. Still three floors above them, unfortunately. She looked back at Scorpius. "I meant what I said, Scorpius. I'll figure it out."

"But-"

"Filch!" she whisper-hissed, dragging Scorpius into the nearest room. It happened to be a broom closet- not the Quidditch kind, but the brooms Filch used for mopping the floors.

For once, she was grateful the old geezer had shown up.

"Eh, Mrs. Norris? Students wandering the corridors? Let's see, then..." he said in his wheezy old voice.

Rose shuddered, looking around the nearly pitch-black closet frantically as Filch's footsteps could be heard walking closer to the closet.

Scorpius grabbed her arm and yanked her behind a set of cans stacked nearly to the ceiling just as the door swung open, flooding the room with light.

Footsteps filed in, and Filch could be heard rummaging through stacks of brooms and piles of cloths and stuff. He was whistling loudly and Mrs. Norris was hissing slightly.

The whistling stopped abruptly and footsteps echoed towards where Rose and Scorpius were hiding with finality. Scorpius gave Rose a panicked glance as they scooted further back until their backs were touching the wall, hardly daring to breathe.

Just as Rose was about to admit that they were doomed, Filch walked right past them, not seeing them in the shadows, and picked up a broom before walking by again as Rose and Scorpius watched him with wide eyes.

He walked right out with Mrs. Norris and shut the door behind him, throwing the room back into darkness.

Everyone and everything was silent for a few moments.

"Well..." Rose said slowly. "Wow, that went surprisingly well!"

Scorpius chuckled, and Rose realized they were so close together that their arms and knees were brushing, and she could feel his shoulders shaking.

A steady blush spread across her cheeks as goosebumps rose on her arms as she remembered that she was still wearing Scorpius's coat.

"So, Rose..." Scorpius said, scooting closer. Even in the dim light, his eyes found hers and locked her in his gaze. All of Rose's brain functions slowly shut down. "We're in a broom closet, you know. Bit incriminating. Someone might walk in and... think we were doing more than just hiding from Filch," he said softly, smirking as he leaned closer to Rose.

This was probably the first time Scorpius Malfoy had made _Rose Granger-Weasley_ speechless.

In earlier years, she'd have punched him- not _hard,_ of course- or told him to sod off... but now she was tongue-tied and realizing that Scorpius looked very good in a button-down white shirt with a loosened tie and messy hair and-

Rose stood up abruptly, her voice feeling detached from the rest of her as she said with a grin, "Yes. They might think that. So let's get going before we give anyone any wrong ideas."

Scorpius stood up, shaking his head with a smile. She could have sworn she heard him mutter "So close."

"Besides, the common room is probably a disaster zone right now. A couple hundred kids in a space that's not big enough to hold that many? Yeah, that'll end well. Especially when there are drinks and everything's dark."

"Lead the way, Miss Weasley."

" _Granger-_ Weasley," she corrected automatically as she pushed the door open.

Like a scene from a movie, Rose poked her head out as Scorpius did the same, a stack of two wide-eyed faces searching the hall. Releasing a relieved breath, Rose stepped out, slipping off her heels. After that close call, she'd realized how loud they were.

Also, her feet were dying and needed medical attention immediately.

They tip-toed down the hall with huge smiles on their faces, even though Rose was a little apprehensive. She was the goody-goody Weasley- everyone knew that- and being out after curfew was akin to breaking the law in Rose's book- giving her the most exhilarating feeling as she did it and found that she didn't care very much.

Scorpius kept saying the most hilarious things and Rose kept tripping over _air-_ literally- and with the memory of what had nearly happened stuck in her brain, she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

This was the most fun she'd had in a while.

All too soon, she was tickling the pear and they were creeping down the passageway to the house-elves. Rose guessed that it had been nearly half an hour since they left the party, so she picked up the pace. Scorpius stumbled along after her, and Rose could tell he was starting to get tired.

Honestly, so was she. Quidditch games were full of energy and fun, but a few hours later, the fatigue hit you like a brick. That was why the day after a Quidditch game was mostly reserved for sleeping.

"Hello, Miss Granger-Weasley!" said a high-pitched, happy voice as Rose came down the stairs.

Rose beamed at the elf. "Hi, Harry," she said. After the war, and after Dobby's death, a lot of house-elves had been named Harry. And Dobby.

"Come down here often?" Scorpius asked quietly with a grin. Rose shrugged.

"Sometimes."

In truth, she'd been down here exactly twice- once in third year on a dare when she'd been young and stupid, and once last year to keep James from getting in trouble as he got more sustenance for a Gryffindor party.

"What would Miss Granger-Weasley like?" asked another delighted voice.

Rose grinned. "Do you happen to have any candles?"

The elves clustered around her, nodding excitedly. "Plenty of them! Thousands, if you like!"

Scorpius said a little quietly, "I think about a hundred would be okay? If that's all right?"

"Harry will go get them," Harry said, scuttling off.

Scorpius and Rose were left on their own as the elves followed Harry to help.

"You alright?" Rose asked tentatively, noticing Scorpius seemed a little quiet.

Scorpius shrugged. "We used to have a house-elf... you know... bit famous, actually," he chuckled, adding a joke onto the end of the statement.

Rose smiled softly. "That wasn't you, Scorpius," she said comfortingly, knowing what he was thinking.

Scorpius looked up at her through the blonde hair falling over his eyes, which hardened like ice. "I still live in the same house, you know. Malfoy Manor."

Rose bit her lip. Malfoy Manor was _not_ somewhere she had any interest in visiting... Al had gone once over the summer and said it was alright but a few rooms were blocked off (for what Rose thought were obvious reasons). But, still... "Scorpius... you know no one blames you or your father anymore."

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, laughing uselessly."Rose, Hogwarts thinks I'm a Quidditch jock. Sure. And the Potters don't hate the Malfoys anymore. But a few days of working together doesn't fix the generations of shame my family's going to face. After I leave Hogwarts, I'll just be remembered as another Malfoy. I certainly look the part."

"But-"

"Hogwarts is a safe place. But the Wizarding World doesn't forget, Rose. They're not going to get over what happened in the war."

Rose didn't quite know what to say. He was right, after all. Hogwarts would remember him for a few years as a good Seeker, maybe Head Boy. No one in the Wizarding World- the Ministry, the Quidditch leagues, even normal magical families- would remember Scorpius as anything but the boy who could have been Voldemort's son.

Merlin, it made Rose wince just thinking about it. _How_ she had ever been able to find any merit to those rumors was beyond her.

"Maybe it doesn't matter what the Wizarding World thinks. Maybe it only-"

"Matters what the people who I care about think? Yeah, that's not helping me get a job, or a house, or make any friends after Hogwarts. As much as we'd all like to pretend that we're okay with what the world thinks about us, we're _not._ Malfoy used to be a name of power... and now it's a name of shame."

"Scorpius... I... this isn't like you," Rose said weakly. That was entirely the wrong thing to say, and Rose scrambled to continue. "I mean... I'm sorry, really, I am, I wish I could fix it. Prejudices can be very hard to shake in the Wizarding World. But if anyone out there has any brains in them, they'll see that you're not just another Malfoy. After everything we've been through because of blood purity and all that crap, I think we have to be willing to look past things like family names... I mean, it's not exactly something you can control."

Scorpius shook his head, giving her a slow smile. "Appreciate it, Rose."

Rose just shook her head, leaving them in silence as the house-elves gathered candles. But Rose couldn't help but feel angry. They'd fought two wars, a duel with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and lost so many lives to the pointless cause of blood purity. Prejudices had nearly torn their world to pieces. And, now that all of it was over, they were resorting to more prejudices? Expecting all the Weasley and Potter children to be exact copies of their parents... and expecting the same of all the Death Eater families.

Merlin, this world needed a wake-up call.

"Miss? Do you need help carrying the candles?" asked Harry as he ran up with a teetering stack.

Rose snapped out of her thoughts and took the boxes before they toppled. Balancing them carefully, Rose declined his help politely and hid a grin as Scorpius grabbed his stack and dropped all of them.

Apologizing profusely, Scorpius finally gathered the candles and followed Rose up the stairs, both of them moving very slowly.

This time, they were silent heading back, and Rose couldn't decide whether that was bad or good. As they rounded the corridor on the second floor, heading for the dungeons, she combed her head for something to say. "So... how're things at home?"

Stupid question.

Scorpius shrugged. "They're all right. Things... aren't the same. Without my mom, I mean," he said quietly, looking at his shoes.

Rose furrowed her brow, moving a little closer to Scorpius as they walked.

He looked up again. "But things are much better with my dad. He... he's trying."

Rose nodded silently as Scorpius glanced back at her. "What about you?"

"Oh... James is freaking out about his job. He's going into curse-breaking like Uncle Bill, and sometimes he sends me some letters about all the cool places in Indonesia he's visiting."

"Indonesia?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rose laughed. "Apparently, they've got a lot of old relics. In rainforests?"

"What about your cousin Fred? Isn't he-"

"Blowing things up at the joke shop? No, actually. I think Hugo's interested in running the shop, but Fred's taking a Healer internship."

Scorpius paused. "I have to say, not what I would have expected."

Rose shook her head, nearly dropping the boxes of candles. "Yeah, me neither. He's still a bone-head... he's just a bone-head who'd like to save some lives."

Chuckling, they descended into the dungeon, and stopped speaking again. This time, Rose decided the silence was fine with her. They couldn't talk all the time, after all, and sometimes, keeping her mouth shut was just _easier._ It was better than asking dumb questions, at least.

"Hey, Rose!" called a voice from behind her. Rose turned and grinned at the tall boy.

 _Henry London._

"Hey, Henry!"

"Need some help?" Henry grinned, and despite Scorpius's jacket draped over her shoulders, Rose felt a blush creep up her neck.

"Sure," she said a little shyly, handing him some of the boxes off the top of the stack of candles. They started walking again, Scorpius weirdly silent behind them.

"So, you decided to come to the party?" Rose asked, wincing after she asked. _Of course he did, why else would he be down here dressed in Quidditch team spirit?_

Henry nodded. "I think the sixth and seventh-years are slow-dancing in there."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I guess that's what happens when you leave teenagers alone at a party."

When they returned to the common room, Rose found that they were indeed right. There was some slow music playing- which sounded like a saxophone?- and couples were twirling around.

Scorpius whistled and everyone turned to him, cheering as he opened one of his boxes and levitated the candles inside.

Pretty soon, there was a layer of floating candles hovering above everyone as they began to dance again.

Rose watched for a few moments before Amy found her. Amy watched a little wistfully as Jake danced with some tall brunette, and Rose nudged her friend with a shoulder. "Come on, let's dance."

Her friend raised a manicured eyebrow, smoothing her pale green dress. "The two of us?" she asked, glancing subtly behind Rose to where Henry London was talking to a friend and Scorpius was... loitering.

Rose nodded. Boys could wait. Amy was going to have some fun tonight, and Rose was as well.

Giggling, the two girls went to the center of the dance floor and pretended to waltz- very badly, of course- and soon Al noticed and played some funky electronic music that they enjoyed a lot more.

And then, as the clock midnight- as Rose was doing something called the macerena with some muggle-borns from Hufflepuff- nearly everyone in the party froze, gave each other some horrified looks, and promptly turned into an assortment of woodland animals.

"What the bloody hell?" Rose swore, glancing around as her dance partners squawked at her as toucans.

Rose turned to find five people that weren't currently animals- Scorpius, Henry London, Thea, some random Ravenclaw sixth-year with blonde hair and a black dress... and Jack.

Rose stormed over to Jack, gritting her teeth. "What. Did. You. DO?"

Jack gave her a sheepish grin that didn't quite conceal his triumph. "I told you I would. I spiked the punch."

Everyone not screeching or squawking or hooting or howling froze.

There was a silence as even the animals quieted for a moment.

Then-

"Do you want to smack him?" Scorpius asked with a glint in his eye. "Or should I?"

* * *

 **I told you... fun galore! And woodland animals as well lol. I have no idea what just happened, honestly, I had an idea and just went with it. Let's see where this goes for next week?**

 **This went from Quidditch to candles to toucans... I think I need to drink more water or something. Or eat more vegetables. _Something_ is wrong lololol.**

 **See ya next time!**

 **-Cupcakes Can Write Too**


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry, I know it's been over a month since I've updated... I was really busy because we moved houses and just SUMMER, right? Lol... but again, really sorry. I've got to stop doing this. But I'm here with the next chapter!**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Henry London had never been in a weirder situation.

It was like a scene out of a movie.

There was the girl main protagonist- Rose Granger-Weasley- staring down the troublemaker- Jack Something (Henry had no idea). Then there was the main male protagonist- Scorpius Malfoy, who looked ready to either burst out laughing or help Rose.

And then there was Thea. She looked bored honestly, and sleepy as well.

Henry didn't know what category he'd put himself in. Hopefully not comic relief.

"Well... should I go get McGonagall?" asked the blonde in the corner, grinning at the chaos.

She might as well have asked to detonate a bomb. Everyone not currently a rampaging animal marched straight at her and screamed- Rose saying she'd lose her badge, Scorpius saying _McGonagall_ would lose her _mind,_ Jack saying he'd get expelled, Thea saying they'd probably have to call the Ministry, and Henry saying that the six of them were screwed if they did that.

"Joking!" said the girl.

Everyone backed off, still glaring.

"All right, Jack, what spell?" Rose said sternly.

"I dunno... something from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Jack said, looking more than a little scared of Rose.

"I am NOT going all the way to Diagon Alley to fix this!" Scorpius said in exasperation.

Jack shrugged. "You don't _have_ to fix it... we could leave. And pretend we were never here-"

"Would you like to drink some punch, Jack? That would probably fix at least one problem," Rose grumbled.

"Nope! But we could always head down to Hogsmeade and get the antidote from there?" Jack said, backing away.

Okay, now Henry had to say something. "Hogsmeade? Are you _insane?_ We wouldn't make it out the door to the common room getting caught, and you think we can make it all the way to Hogsmeade?"

"My cousin has a cloak, you know..." Rose said slowly.

"I thought James had that?" Scorpius asked. Henry raised his eyebrows at them.

"The real Invisibility Cloak?" he asked, skeptical.

Rose grinned. "Yep. He gave it to Al for his last year at Hogwarts, but Al never uses it and-"

"Al is currently a very angry peacock in the corner over there," Scorpius pointed. "And he's not going to be any help finding this cloak."

"Please tell me he keeps it in your dormitory?" Rose asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "I'll go look. The rest of you should probably get these animals under control..." he said, gesturing at the room full of rampaging animals. There were screeching birds dive-bombing tables and roaring lions and all sorts of things that were making a hell of a racket and would probably lead McGonagall or Filch right to the common room.

As Scorpius went up the stairs to the dorms, Rose whistled loudly. Most of the animals turned to her with some measure of intelligence that proved they were more than wild animals. "Okay, folks... some idiot spiked the punch today. But don't worry... we're going to Hogsmeade and you'll all be back to normal soon."

A lion roared in response.

"Well... soon enough." Rose said sheepishly. "Just... don't break anything. And don't leave the common room."

A bunch of animals stomped and screeched and roared at that.

"All right, then, leave. Find Filch, who'll toss you into the Forbidden Forest, or McGonagall, who'll give you detention for the rest of the year- even though this isn't your fault."

Everyone paused.

 _"Thank_ you. Now, if you'll excuse us." And Rose led everyone- all the humans- up the stairs to Al's dorm.

When they got up there, they found Scorpius rifling through a trunk and tossing clothes every which way, and Rose snorted. "Al's going to be _very_ happy about this," she laughed.

Scorpius straightened and grinned at her, holding up the cloak. "Found it. Let's go."

Rose turned to the rest of them. "Okay, Scorpius and I will go figure this out, and you all stay here and control the animals," she ordered.

Jack shook his head. "You think I'm staying _here?_ No way, mate, I'm coming with you-"

"If anyone deserves to be punished for this, it's you," Henry cut in, raising an eyebrow at him. Jack smiled sheepishly.

"I was pissed at the Slytherins. It's a common ailment," he protested.

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's an Invisibility _Cloak,_ not an Invisibility _Blanket._ I'm guessing only two of us will fit under there," she announced, and she and Scorpius left before there could be any more arguments.

Jack watched them go, then turned to everyone and raised an eyebrow. "Coming, folks?"

Henry stomped after them as they left- _someone_ had to keep an eye on these kids.

* * *

Rose opened the door to the portrait hole, wincing as it creaked. "Does the door have to be so loud?" she hissed, not talking to anyone in particular. Scorpius climbed out after her and ran a hand through his hair.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Dunno, but it's past curfew for sure," Rose said, glancing around for a clock and not finding one. "Come on," she said, lifting the Invisibility Cloak. She put it over her head and Scorpius ducked down underneath it as well. Rose's breath caught in her throat as they huddled closer to fit underneath reliably, and she heard Scorpius laugh. "What?" she asked.

"No, it's just that if I stood up straight, this cloak wouldn't be long enough for me," Scorpius chuckled. Rose turned and saw that he was actually crouching down.

She laughed as she thought of something else. "McGonagall would lose her mind if she saw a pair of feet just walking round the dungeons."

Scorpius laughed at that, too, and they started making their way down the hallway. "Not much of a party," Scorpius commented.

"I dunno. Some of those people were _animals,"_ Rose said sarcastically and was rewarded by more laughter from Scorpius.

"I meant that we're just having to solve one problem after another," Scorpius said. Rose began making her way up the steps and realized she was _still_ wearing Scorpius's coat. She'd been wearing it for hours at this point, and she'd forgotten. She didn't think anyone had noticed, but now that she thought of it, the butterflies invaded her stomach again, making her want to break out in a goofy grin.

"I guess," she said, remembering Scorpius had spoken. "But, hey, at least this will be a night to remember for everyone involved."

"Best party of the year, courtesy of the Slytherins," Scorpius scoffed.

"Featuring Jack Young, with a special at the end where all of his animals attack him," Rose added, laughing.

They got to the top of the stairs and paused as something clattered somewhere nearby. They were just by the entrance hall, and Filch or any of the teachers could be anywhere near them at this point. "It'd be a shame if we got caught by Filch after avoiding him _so_ well last time," Scorpius muttered.

There was another noise, and Rose froze.

Both she and Scorpius slowly turned, wincing and expecting to see Filch, or, better yet, McGonagall.

Instead, they were met with the sight of a single squeaking squirrel. Rose and Scorpius exchanged incredulous glances as it blew past them at top speed and escaped into the Entrance Hall, still squeaking madly. "What the bloody hell?" Rose asked.

Scorpius started all of a sudden. "Rose," he said with some fear in his voice, clutching her arm. "Rose, you don't think-"

It dawned on her, and for a moment they just looked at each other in horror. Then, in the same direction as the squirrel, came Jack, Thea, the Ravenclaw sixth-year, and Henry London, all also running at top speed. A long string of curses was issuing from Thea's mouth, and the Ravenclaw was glaring at Jack with a look to rival Rose when she was angry.

Rose lifted he cloak off her head, and Jack, who was in the lead, nearly tripped over his own feet, making the Ravenclaw stumble and fall, inadvertently tripping Thea, who ended up Henry crashing to the ground.

It was quite a sight- four kids on the floor, groaning and trying to untangle their limbs, while Rose and Scorpius, who were only half-visible, looked on. Not to mention the crazy squeaking of the squirrel faintly echoing in the background.

"Jack," Rose said dangerously. "I am going to _hex_ you to _hell_ if that was what I thought it was-"

"We may have lost a squirrel," Jack said slowly, putting his hands out before him in a 'we come in peace' gesture and slowly backing away. "But we-"

"WE?!" exploded the sixth-year. "Yeah, that's likely, isn't it? We opened the door, we provoked that poor student, and what do you know? _We_ also laughed when that squirrel started running," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm liking you more and more," Scorpius said appreciatively. He turned to Jack, drew his wand, and said "Petrificus Totalus" before anyone could do anything else.

Jack toppled backwards while Thea cheered. "Good riddance," she said, dragging him behind a statue. "We'll be back in a couple of hours," she said with a fake smile, then started running after the squirrel again.

* * *

 **So the animals just got crazier in this lol.**

 **Also, I'm aware it's really short, but for now, this is what I have, and I kinda want to update so that there's at least a little bit more of the story up.**

 **I'm not gonna promise updates soon because obviously that has not gone well lol but I will try to post soon. Please review!**

 **See ya next time!**

 **-Cupcakes Can Write Too**


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